Logan looked looked at aer hair in the mirror and smiled at the makeover's result. Half of it was shaved off and the half that wasn't was bright green, like those puddles of acid you'd see in cartoons. It seemed fitting that ae did this today, aer first day on the job that they didn't even want to be a part of.
That thought did illicit a sigh from aer, but ae didn't let it get aer down...too much. Instead, ae pulled out the Pokeball containing the one Pokemon ae'd be starting with, aer Scyther. Ae called Scyther out in the bathroom and scratched his head gently. "Hey, old friend," ae said with a slight smile. "Ready for our first day?"
Scyther gently ran one blade over aer hair, careful not to cut it off. He seemed to say, You cut it off?
Logan grinned. "Yeah, well, I'm not gonna be just another grunt that follows everybody's orders, ya know? I'm gonna wear the uniform, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Scyther nodded. Logan sighed and walked out of the bathroom, dropping the towel wrapped around them and got dressed in uniform. They wore the woman's top but the men's pants underneath. Scyther walked into the room as ae turned around. Logan sighed. "I'll let you out soon enough, but for now...return, please."
Logan held out the Pokeball and pressed the button on it. Scyther dissolved into red light and reappeared much smaller in the Pokeball. Logan rubbed a thumb lovingly over the top. Scyther was aer first Pokemon and Logan doubted that ae would grow attached to another Pokemon quite like ae had to him.
There was a knock at aer door, and ae went to open it. On the other side was their partner, Wilder. He pushed his brown hair out of his eyes and stared at Logan. "Human...your hair!"
Logan flipped aer hair to one side of aer head and grinned. "Well, a grunt's gotta distinguish aerself somehow, eh?"
"Your father will kill you," Wilder said.
Logan grabbed aer hat and pulled it on, effectively stopping aer hair from falling into aer face. "What my father doesn't know, won't hurt 'im. Now, I believe there was something you came over here for?"
Wilder snapped to attention. "Yes, today is your first day on the job, you can hardly be late, can you? We're heading out today to catch some Pokemon."
"Ah, is that all?" Logan asked. "I was expecting something...more."
Wilder laughed. "Oh, trust me, it's more than just going out there and throwing Pokeballs. You'll do fine, though. You've got the guts for it, if you're gonna wear your hair like that."
"Thanks, I think," ae said, pulling a face.
Wilder just chuckled and walked off. Logan followed, closing aer door and jogging to catch up. Ae was currently in the base under the Game Corner in Celadon City, and ae had a habit of getting lost if ae weren't following anyone. Ae caught up to Wilder and walked side-by-side with him, struggling a little at his brisk pace. Wilder noticed and cut back their speed a little, smiling at them. "I'm gonna tell you a secret, but you can't tell anyone, all right?"
Logan felt aer stomach grow heavy like a ball of lead, but ae nodded anyway.
"Your test scores were so high, the boss is thinking of letting you fly solo after a month or so with me."
Logan's eyebrows shot up, and Wilder took that as a sign of happy surprise. "I know! You'll be in the big leagues before you know it, kid! Isn't that great?!"
"Great," Logan said, aer voice ringing hollow. "I can't believe it."
Wilder chuckled and clapped aer back. "Don't worry, we can always catch each other around if you want."
Logan smiled genuinely at that. "Yeah, because I want to hang out with the narcissistic grunt if I move up to be like, a general or something. Get real."
Wilder shook his head. "You never know, you might get attached to me."
"Not very likely," ae teased.
Wilder barked a laugh. "I like you, kid. You've got guts. Let's go, there's bound to be a trainer or two just outside the city, your first assignment'll be really easy."
"So...we're scaring them off or something? I thought the base was secure?"
"It is," Wilder replied cryptically. "You'll see what we're doing once we get out there."
Logan swallowed aer apprehension. "C'mon, Wilder. Play nice and tell me!"
Wilder looked over at aer and stopped. "Okay, okay. I thought you'd like the surprise, is all. I really enjoyed it when my first partner left my first job a surprise. We're going out to steal some trainers' Pokemon. Spoil sport."
The blood drained from Logan's face. "Wait, really? I-I thought we were going to be guarding the base, not...out there!" ae hissed.
"It was going to be your surprise," Wilder shrugged. "I thought you'd like it. Don't worry, I'm an expert in not getting caught; you're not in any danger if you steal 'em."
Ae didn't reply, too deep in aer own thoughts. Ae should have become a Pokemon trainer, no matter what aer father had said. They had guts, yes, but that didn't mean they were okay with stealing some little kid's first Pokemon. Wilder...liked doing things like that? Ae had no idea he was that malicious! Granted, they should have known, him willingly joining Team Rocket, but even so, the thought of enjoying stealing someone's Pokemon and using them for evil made ae sick.621Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhRXf3GR5K
"Logan?" Wilder asked.
Logan looked up and gave Wilder a pained smile. "Yeah, Wilder? I was thinking, you should try it sometime."
He chuckled. "We're about to go out into the city, keep your eyes out for cops, all right?"
"Yeah," Logan said. "Don't want to get caught."
Don't I?621Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmS8VGuIOI
